Andrew Kirton

Andrew Kirton (born c.1981) is a New Zealand politician who was the General Secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party. He was appointed on 15 January 2016 and took office in April, succeeding Tim Barnett.[1]

Andrew Kirton
Kirton speaking in 2017
15th General Secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party
In office 15 January 2016 – 10 August 2018
Leader	Andrew Little Jacinda Ardern
Preceded by	Tim Barnett
Succeeded by	Andre Anderson
Personal details
Born	c.1981 Taumarunui, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Camilla Belich
Relations	Neil Kirton (uncle)
Children	Two
Alma mater	Lincoln University

Biography

Early life and career

Kirton was born and raised in Taumarunui, Manawatū-Whanganui.[2] He grew up in a Catholic household as one of four children on a dairy farm where his political beliefs were spurred after the value of the farm was halved and farming subsidies were abolished as part of the Rogernomics policies the 1980s.[3]

He later moved to the United Kingdom. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Management from Lincoln University and later studied at the London School of Economics.[1] Kirton was head of public affairs for Heathrow Airport before joining international construction company, Mace Group, leading their global corporate affairs division.[1]

Political career

Kirton co-chaired the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations in 2005 and the next year became a political advisor to Pacific Island Affairs Minister Winnie Laban.[1] In 2007 he became a communications advisor to former Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark.[2]

In January 2016 he succeeded Tim Barnett as General Secretary of the Labour Party. He was also the Labour Party's Campaign Manager for the 2017 general election, serving with Te Atatū MP Phil Twyford, who was the Campaign Chair.[4][5]

When asked in 2017 if he held aspirations on entering Parliament himself, Kirton didn't rule out running one day, but wants to work in the private sector again first.[6] In June 2018 Kirton announced he was stepping down as General Secretary after accepting a job with Air New Zealand as their head of government relations.[7]

Personal life

He is married and has two children.[6] His wife Camilla Belich is a lawyer and granddaughter of former Wellington mayor Sir James Belich.[3] Kirton's uncle Neil Kirton was a New Zealand First MP was Associate Minister of Health from 1996 to 1997. His father Weston Kirton was formerly mayor of Ruapehu District and ran unsuccessfully as the National Party candidate in Taupo in both the 2002 and 2005 elections.[1]

References

1. Moir, Jo (15 January 2016). "Andrew Kirton appointed as Labour Party's new general secretary". Stuff. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
2. "New General Secretary for New Zealand Labour Party". New Zealand Labour Party. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
3. Cheng, Derek (17 March 2018). "General secretary Andrew Kirton's political ambitions have taken a knock this week". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
4. "Labour appoints election campaign manager". Newshub. MediaWorks TV. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
5. "Labour appoints key 2017 campaign roles". New Zealand Labour Party. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
6. Moir, Jo (25 November 2017). "Labour's campaign manager on how party turned things around in just eight weeks". Stuff. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
7. "Labour's General Secretary Andrew Kirton steps down for new job at Air NZ". The New Zealand Herald. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.

Party political offices
Preceded by Tim Barnett	General Secretary of the Labour Party 2016–2018	Succeeded by Andre Anderson